Early Summer, Late Winter
by SirDragneel
Summary: Lucy hasn't been having a very good day, but sprinkle random chance with a REALLY good looking guy, and you have a recipe for an early summer.
1. Early Summer

Today had been another fabulous day for Lucy Heartfilia.

Of course by fabulous, she mean shit-tastic.

First she was late for her job at the coffee shop, had a guy flirt with her for 30 minutes straight as she tried to usher the man to please take his beverage and leave, and had coffee poured on her when she denied the jerks advances.

What was with guys these days? Lucy would never fully understand, and it's why she had sworn off guys for the past few years, since her last boyfriend, Loke, had cheated on her a million times. The two had remained friends, but just friends was all Lucy every wanted to be, at this point.

Luckily for Lucy though, she didn't have to walk home with a coffee stain on her shirt, as her friend, Erza Scarlet, lent her one of her shirts, since she always seemed to have spare clothes.

Lucy had been so wrapped up in her thoughts, she barely registered the shout from the guy in front of her, as he tripped on the curb.

He had his hands in front of him, probably to catch himself on the floor, but both Lucy and the guy-who was wearing a red beanie-practically screamed as his hands caught her shoulders instead.

The guys phone went flying out of his hand, and the sudden weight of Lucy caused them to swerve and almost collapse, until she latched her arms around his back, which ended up as her dipping an insanely hot guy in the middle of a crowded street.

His hat had fallen off somewhere during the dip, revealing messy pink hair, which was trimmed shorter around his neck but was a wild mess on top of his head, which hung in his, now wide, dark eyes.

The man in her arms also had two studs in his ears, and his expression looked absolutely flabbergasted and _mortified_ that some random chick just caught him sensually with 100 people watching.

Lucy found herself shrieking and jumping back, letting the poor guy hit the floor, head snapping back onto the pavement, him yelling " _ow!"_ In the process.

She covered her mouth in shock as she stared down at the guy now rubbing his head gingerly to alleviate the pain.

Great, not only had she dipped and embarrassed a hot guy in public, but then she dropped him to let him get a concussion. Just great.

"That was a surprise…" He said, laughing softly as he grabbed his hat and phone "I admit I've never had THAT happen to me before"

Lucy couldn't believe how he was just brushing it off so easily, and laughing, and _smiling_ (His smile rivaled the sun in every way) and just what was this complete stranger doing to her heart right now?! "I-I'm so sorry!" She cried, rushing to his side and helping him up.

He wasn't the tallest guy she's seen, in fact, he was only about 10 cm taller than herself, and she was only 5'4. But despite his shortness, he didn't look unable to handle himself, as Lucy noticed the guy was 100% _ripped_. And since the white sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to his elbows, she could see a bit of the fiery tattoo that probably took up his whole arm, as it was visible from the edges of the collar of his shirt.

His state of dress was another matter in itself. His shirt was long so it bunched up around his narrow hips, but was tight enough to see he definitely had a 6-pack hidden beneath it. He wore black skinny jeans, which did wonders for his legs, and red converse, and lastly, a black and white scaly scarf secured around his hips like a belt.

Lucy had to blink a few times to get herself to focus on his, tan, freckled, face, with his strong, defined jawline, and-

' _HEARTFILIA SNAP OUT OF IT!_ ' Her inner voice screamed, and Lucy finally brought herself to smile apologetically.

The guy was grinned widely now, showing sharp canines, and making his equally sharp eyes crinkle around the edges, showing he was genuinely happy.

"It's no problem! I've just heard of a damsel in distress, not the other way around" He snickered, stuffing his hat in his back pocket. "Either way you'd make a great heroine!"

Lucy blushed at the compliment, but waved it aside, continuing to smile brightly "Let me at least make it up to you… Since I dropped you on the floor" she muttered, trying to keep her face from exploding

"Well sure, what didja have in mind?" He asked, eyes wide an innocent, going from devilishly handsome to the cutest thing on Earth in 0.2 seconds.

"Hmm…" Lucy hummed in thought, rubbing her chin "Tell you what, I work at a small coffee shop down the road from here, just come in and ask for me and I'll get you a free order!"

His face brightened considerably at that, if it was possible "Ok, what's your name?!" He asked excitedly, making the girl blink in confusion.

"H-Huh?"

"Well I can't ask for ya if I don't know your name" He pointed out "'Yeah just get me the blonde chick with a hero complex, she'll fix me up'" the guy continued mockingly, making Lucy giggle, and she noticed his smile grow more, as he managed to make her laugh.

"I'm Lucy."

"Great! I'm Natsu! I'll be seeing you soon then!" Natsu declared, giving a short salute, before hurrying off in the direction he was heading before their little spill.

Lucy felt her lips curl as she turned, and headed down the road, towards home.

Maybe today hadn't been so worthless after all. In fact, maybe her summer would come early this year.


	2. Late Winter

Lucy couldn't help herself from feeling disappointed as Natsu hadn't stopped by in the past few days. Whenever someone walked in, she would eagerly turn to the door, expecting pink hair and warm smiles, only to see another disgruntled business man, much to her dismay.

It was already getting late, so when the small bell at the door chimed at the entrance of another person, she didn't even bother looking up.

"Welcome to Magnolia Cafe, what can I get you?" She said, turning, but then her heart stopped. And not in a good way.

It was the same guy who had harassed her last week.

"For the love of-" Lucy started, but sighed, calming her nerves "Just order and leave."

The dark haired man smirked "All I want is your number, baby" he said suavely, making Lucy take all she had to not vomit at his failed attempt of being "smooth".

"I said I'm not interested." She snapped, gripping the pad of paper in her hands in a death grip, glaring daggers at the guy, who seemed unphased.

"What reason do you have to not accept _one_ date?" He asked, with a superior smirk that made Lucy positively furious.

What could she say to get rid of him for good? She pondered, and smiled as she got an idea.

"I have a boyfriend." She stated firmly, with a smirk of her own.

The man faltered, and went quiet for a moment, before finally thinking up his answer "Ok, call him so I can make sure this isn't an excuse" he said, making Lucy gape. Just how determined was this loony?

"No need!" A warm, familiar voice wafted in through the small cafe, and there he was, like he rode in on the sunshine itself.

Natsu was still wearing the studs in his ears, but his bangs were clipped up, he was wearing a gray and blue striped tank top, revealing his full tattoo, and torn jeans and his typical converse. Still as amazing as before.

Lucy didn't realize the full meaning of what he had said until his arm was draped over her shoulder casually, and her face caught fire.

"I'm right here in the flesh, whatcha wanna chat about?" Natsu asked, flashing a sharp grin.

The guy stared, eyeing up Natsu, who was obviously 10 times more attractive, not to mention looking like he could break him with one finger, and Lucy seriously wondered if he could.

It didn't take long for the man to leave, muttering an apology as his head hung low with guilt, Natsu turning to face Lucy with a triumphant grin as he did so.

"Did that make up for you catching me last week?" He asked cheekily, his grin already melting the blondes insides.

Lucy shoved his face away, tsking as she moved to stand behind the counter "Sure, sure…" she muttered, trying to hide the smile that was growing on her face "Just tell me what you want to order"

Natsu hummed softly, rubbing his cheek as he scrutinized the menu, before his eyes examined the glass case of desserts and snacks "I think… a tall black coffee, two sandwiches, and three orange cranberry scones." He decided, and Lucy gaped at the long order

"You want ALL of that?!" She cried, knowing this was coming out of her wallet, and he shrugged

"Well, gotta take advantage of free food, after all, and it was a long walk here...:" Natsu drawled, and Lucy sighed, turning to grab his order, while he took a seat at the bar.

Natsu had surprisingly finished everything quickly, much to Lucy's dismay, and soon, he was waving, leaving her alone in the cafe. The blonde sighed, going to clean up the mess on the counter, stopping as she saw something scribbled on the coffee cup.

" _A real man gives his number first"_ is what it said, with a cell phone number directly below, and a chibi dragon in the corner, making Lucy giggle at the childish cartoon, gripping the empty cup tightly.

Something told her not to give up on guys quite yet.


	3. Slow Fall

Natsu couldn't fight the nerves he had been feeling all day at work. All day he had been kind of half out of it, and jumped at every noise his phone made, hoping it was Lucy, only to be disappointed in the end.

"Dude, what are you doing?" Gray's voice cut through his messy thoughts, making him look up tiredly.

"Whattya talkin' 'bout…" He mumbled, letting out a small sigh in the end.

"You've been polishing that apple for like 30 minutes." Gray clarified, plucking the towel and apple out of his hands "What the hell is up with you, you've looked like a ghost the past week!"

Natsu slouched over the bar, thankful Fairy Tail had been devoid of customers today "She hasn't called me…" he muttered.

Gray blinked in confusion at him, before he remembered the blonde chick that Natsu had been talking about all week "Wait, that girl you met? That's what this is about?"

"I don't understand… I tried playing it cool, and gave her my number… She looked like she was into me…" he continued, a dark aura emanating off his very being "Did I mess up…? Does she just not like me…?"

Normally, Gray would've picked this time to tease his friend about him being in love, but couldn't find the heart to with how pathetic he looked.

"H-Hey, I'm sure it's not that… You know how girls are! She's probably just too scared because she likes you so much!" He offered, hoping Natsu would stop acting so depressing. It was too hard to hate him when he was depressed.

Natsu looked up, faint hope lighting in his eyes at that "Y-You really think so…?" He asked, looking like he was about to cry. What a sap.

"Yeah… I think so…"

((LINE CUT))

Natsu was relieved when he finally returned to his flat. His heart had been palpitating all day in nervous fear, but at least Gray managed to help it calm down more.

He sank low into his couch, curling up in the corner and sighing, feeling his heavy eyes start to droop. Natsu hadn't gotten much sleep over the past few days, as worry over this blonde had filled his mind.

It had even taken him a couple of days to work up the nerve and go cash in his free meal, for fear that he would combust under her stare, which was probably a mix of the most intense and most adorable thing in the world.

He barely managed to play it cool, and work up the nerve to leave his number on the cup, but as soon as he walked out he was calling up Gray, screaming into the phone, hoping he didn't screw up.

Natsu didn't know why this girl had such a hold on his heart, and why it fluttered when she smiled, but it was really starting to get on his nerves, and he cursed whichever existence for making him feel like a schoolgirl.

You should never feel like that.

The phone in his back pocket suddenly buzzed, and Natsu jumped off the couch, tripping over the coffee table, and falling onto the floor.

Natsu didn't waste time feeling embarrassed and quickly answered the phone, his heart racing.

"He-Hello..?!" He said, wincing at how desperate he sounded, but the faint giggle made his heart, at first seize up in his chest, before calming down. She had actually called him. If he didn't feel like crying before he certainly did now.

"Hey, I was just kinda bored, and decided to try out that number, so…" Lucy's voice came from the receiver, like music to his ears "I'm sorry, are you busy?" She asked uncertainly.

"NO!" Shit, he just yelled at her "I-I mean, I was, I was _not_ , I was just, um, sitting, and uh…"

The soft giggle turned into full on laughter, making Natsu pause, fearing he would scream.

Lucy finally calmed down enough to speak, and he could practically hear her smile through the phone "Is this Natsu in his natural habitat, free of all the smooth comebacks?" She teased, and Natsu felt his face heat up.

After a bit he himself was laughing softly "Y-Yeah, I was… Caught off guard by you calling so suddenly…"

The other side went silent, as she understood the underlying implications of ' _You took a long time to call'_ and ' _I was afraid you wouldn't ever call'_.

"Then… How about I make up for it…" she said softly "Does a date sound ok?"

Natsu thought his heart had truly stopped at this, pausing briefly to try and calm himself before answering.

"A date with my heroine sounds amazing."


End file.
